Thursday, January 10, 2013

Creamy Carrot and Sweet Potato Yogurt Smoothie - Kim's Welcoming Kitchen


My efforts to recommit myself to healthy living are not just limited to my physical health.  They also include trying to foster a peaceful home environment to ensure greater mental health for my family.

How am I going to do this?

I am going to remember that spending time with my children where they have my full attention is better than anything else I can do with them.  (When I need reminding of this, I read this lovely piece by my dear friend, Stacy Snyder of the couldn't-be-truer Parent Unplugged.)

I also am going to choose my battles.  As I've written before, my kids can be picky eaters.  Even with my older son's limitations, they can still turn their noses up to food that I prepare.  If I turn to my tried-and-true friend the smoothie to start out our days, I can allow them a greater say in what they eat later in the day, because I know we've started out with a good dose of fruits, veggies and other good stuff.  Allowing them to weigh in on what we eat, provides us with much more peaceful meal time.  

While we still are going to try new stews, soups and casseroles each week, my boys will have a say some of the time on what we try, and they can even choose the dinner sometimes.  Make your own pizza night?  No problem.  Pick whichever toppings you like, I know you've already had carrots and kale, blueberries and strawberries.

This is the smoothie that lit up our breakfast table this week.

Carrot and Sweet Potato Yogurt Smoothie
makes one blenderful
(amounts are approximate)

Ingredients:
one baked sweet potato, skin removed
3 carrots, cut in chunks
3/4 cup frozen pineapple chunks
3/4 cup frozen mango chunks
2 tablespoons ground chia seeds
large dollop (~3/4 cup) non-dairy vanilla yogurt
unsweetened coconut milk beverage and apple juice (enough of both to get desired consistency)

Preparation:
Blend thoroughly. 

This recipe was shared with Allergy Free Wednesday.

Happy Cooking!
Kim 

My new book, Super Seeds, is available now! You can also find tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen- & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes.

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4 comments:

  1. Sounds wonderful. Loved the combination, its going to be very healthy too.

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  2. I love putting spinach or kale in smoothies, but I would never have thought of sweet potatos! I'm going to give this a try, but will probably have to not let anyone see what I'm adding. What they don't know can't hurt them, right?

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  3. Peggy,
    Sometimes, my kids prefer not to know what's in the smoothie, though they always know it contains a veggie and fruit. Given the choice, they will choose a smoothie over a vegetable on a plate every time!

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  4. It is all about battles and picking them! Its knowing when to pick them! :) I struggle with that each day :)
    Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :)

    On the Gluten Free Fridays tab we have new badges for you to display on your blog. There are a few different choices for you. There are varying sizes as well. If you've had a featured recipe in the past, feel free to grab one of those badges as well! They are free for the taking; use as you wish! Thanks for supporting our GF community and spreading the word!

    Thanks for linking back to the Gluten Free Fridays post!

    See you at the link up this week!

    Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

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